


the booze and the bell chimes

by notmyyacht



Category: Aladdin (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cinderella (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Heavy Drinking, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Comedy, Stag Nights & Bachelor Parties, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmyyacht/pseuds/notmyyacht
Summary: Jafar has no memory of the night before the wedding, but he’s pretty sure that something happened between him and that friend of Aladdin’s.
Relationships: Adam/Jafar (Disney), Additional Side Pairings - Relationship, Aladdin/Jasmine (Disney), Jafar & Jasmine (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	the booze and the bell chimes

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally posting this!! Yaaay! This was originally from a prompt from a looong time ago by heroofshield on tumblr for "two miserable people meeting at a wedding au" + my choice of ship. Needless to say, this fic got away from me lol
> 
> Completely unbeta'd! This is much more light-hearted than my other Jafar/Adam fics, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!!

11:00 AM - 6 HOURS BEFORE THE WEDDING

_ “BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY ROCKIN’ EVERYWHERE” _

Jafar nearly jumped out of bed, his heart pounding in time with the pounding in his head. He groaned and fumbled for the phone that he normally kept on his desk; his hand met only air and wood. He cursed under his breath and reluctantly kicked off the comforter.

At last, he found his phone in the back pocket of his jeans, which were thrown over a chair, and silenced whatever the fuck that ringtone was.

“Shit,” he muttered, noting the time staring back at him. 

His bedroom was a mess with the clothes he had worn the night before strewn all over the place; his shoes seemed to be the only things where they should be, namely by the front door. It could only be assumed that he had done that out of sheer habit, though to his dismay it looked like he must have toed himself out of them instead of untying the laces.

At least the front door was locked. But that was the only comfort. 

Jafar quickly filled the coffee filter and turned the machine on before he dashed to the bathroom.

He ran a hand through his hair as the shower sprayed down on him. As he made to take the quickest shower ever, he couldn’t help but go over the obvious and worrying truth: he couldn’t remember a fucking thing from the night before.

Not where he had gone, what he had drunk, or how he had gotten home. He chewed on his lower lip as he fumbled with the shampoo, trying to balance making haste and wracking his foggy brain to remember any details from the bachelor party.

But nothing definite. Pieces. The muffled pounding of music (or maybe that was just the headache), laughing, the burn of a strong drink… He frowned and leaned against the cool tile. 

“Fuck,” he muttered.

About five minutes later, that godawful music began resounding from Jafar’s phone again.

_ “BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY ROCKIN’ EVERYWHERE” _

Wide-eyed, Jafar poked his head back into his bedroom. 

_ Genie, you bastard _ , he thought, quickly removing the toothbrush from his mouth and spitting into the bathroom sink. He sprinted to the bedside table where his phone now sat, still ringing. Jafar answered, putting the phone to his ear.

“You like the new ringtone?” immediately said the voice on the other end, amusement lining his tone.

“Which one of you changed it, Aladdin? You or Genie?” asked Jafar, only exhaustion keeping him from raising his voice. 

“It was all Genie, I swear. I was just a witness,” laughed Aladdin. “I mean, hey, you shouldn’t be leaving your phone alone like that. That’s on you.”

“When did I leave my phone alone?”

“Uh… I think it was at the sports bar. The one we got thrown out of.”

Jafar didn’t remember any sports bar. 

“You don’t remember it, do you?” asked Aladdin.

“No,” he replied, scrubbing a hand over his face. “In fact, most of last night is missing.”

“Not surprised. You got pretty sloshed. Haven’t seen you drink like that in years.”

“Tell me about it later. I slept through my alarm.” Jafar quickly checked his watch. “Shit, I’m late.”

“That’s why I’m calling. You’re not the only one who’s hungover, so we pushed brunch back half an hour. You got plenty of time. I didn’t need that extra time to get ready anyway. Though I got a text from Dalia; Jasmine’s already at the hair dresser’s.”

The wedding. The reason behind everything. Childhood friend was getting married to another friend. As adults do. Fuck, Jafar’s head was pounding. 

“Alright, I’ll see you there in twenty,” he replied. 

As he dressed, he attempted to retrace his steps from the night before. 

Aladdin’s bachelor party had started off at The Magik Tower, a bar Jafar had been in a couple times. It had been him, Aladdin, Genie, Kit, and Hakim. He remembered Aladdin briefly mentioning something about being joined by someone else later on in the night, but he couldn’t pinpoint ever actually meeting up with the other guy.

The plan was to meet up at eight, then bar hop to wherever the night took them.

Aladdin, Jafar, Kit, and Hakim had sat just outside the bar, waiting. At last a familiar blue car pulled up and out stepped Genie with a big grin.

“Hey, who is ready to par-tay!” he exclaimed, striding up to Aladdin. “There he is, the groom!” He pulled poor Aladdin in for a hug as Jafar spoke.

“You’re 15 minutes late.”

“Sorry man, there was some traffic by exit 3. You ain’t mad at me, are you?” Genie asked, directing his question to Aladdin.

“Nah, you’re not that late. Don’t let this party pooper guilt trip you,” said Aladdin.

Kit chuckled, turning to Jafar. “Yeah,” he said, “save it for tomorrow when you’re the only one of us not hungover.” 

_ Oh, how ironic that was now. _

They all proceeded inside and ordered their first round of beers. Jafar could remember this much. He remembered joking around with his friends. Or rather, they joked around and Jafar just felt like he was along for the ride. These weren’t really  _ his  _ friends, but Aladdin’s. Jafar would probably have fit in better at Jasmine’s bachelorette, but traditions were traditions. 

He had known Hakim since childhood, sure, but they weren’t really close. Kit and Genie, however, Jafar had come to know through Jasmine’s long-time boyfriend - and soon to be husband - Aladdin during their college years. He never felt that he quite fit in with them, but they were friendly enough to hang out on occasion.

He felt included and wanted in on their boys’ circle, but there was a repertoire he never could quite establish with them, especially in the friendship between Genie and Aladdin. Not that it was hostile by any means, but he always felt like the odd one out whenever they roped him in for a guys’ night.

12:08 PM - 5 HOURS BEFORE THE WEDDING

“So where do things go fuzzy?” Genie asked from across the table. Jafar shot a glare over his mug as he sipped his coffee. 

Upon his arrival to meet up with Aladdin, Kit, and Genie for brunch, Genie had at once started teasing him for blacking out. At least Kit had been empathetic, sporting a brutal hangover himself. How Genie managed to put away as much as he did and not feel it the next day astounded Jafar. 

But now everybody was listening and it seemed Genie was genuinely curious, though he was still grinning.

“Some time after we left The Magik Tower. I remember bar hopping to the next place, though I don’t remember the name of it. I do remember it was much cleaner though. Then we had a round of drinks. Then…”

“Then you and Aladdin had _ several _ shots of tequila,” Kit interrupted with a smile. 

“We did?” Jafar turned to Aladdin, who was nodding with a distant look.

“You were incredibly happy for downing more than him, I remember,” said Kit. 

Jafar covered his embarrassment by shoving a mouthful of breakfast quiche in his mouth. He knew he could get competitive sober, but a drinking Jafar’s competitiveness was ruthless and unrelenting. He felt his cheeks grow warm at the thought of getting that drunk so early in the night. It was no wonder he blacked out. 

Shit, the dull throb in his brain was back.

“Yeah, that was right about the time that Adam joined us.”

Jafar blinked and looked up from his plate at Aladdin. 

“Who?”

For a solid fifteen seconds, Aladdin’s expression flickered between bewilderment and befuddlement, before settling on realization.

“You… You don’t remember Adam?” he asked.

Jafar was at once alarmed at the fact that everybody was staring at him as if there were snakes slithering out of his ears. He shook his head. 

Genie seemed to be stifling amusement; he pressed his lips together in a hard line to keep it together. Kit’s eyes were wide and his egg-covered fork was paused halfway to his mouth. Aladdin’s brow was knit, like he didn’t know how to handle this information. Wasn’t Jafar supposed to be the one confused? In fact, he was. Intensely!

“You really don’t remember talking to him? Or, you know, when you…” Kit started. Trailing off like that couldn’t be a good sign. 

Aladdin cleared his throat.

“Adam’s the one I told you about,” he said. “The one who I said would be joining us later in the night. And he did.”

Jafar figured that much. It crossed his mind then that maybe Adam should be there at brunch with them. But he wasn’t. Was that why everyone was acting so weird about it? 

_ Oh.  _ Jafar swallowed. Just how much trouble did they get into last night? What kind of conversation did Jafar have with this Adam? Maybe he got into a fight with him. ‘And then he did,’ Aladdin had said. Perhaps he didn’t join them for very long. 

_ Huh. _ Jafar wondered what the faceless bastard had said to him to rile him up. He sipped at his coffee again and wondered if he’d see this Adam at the wedding, likely wearing a nice black tux and a fresh new cast around his arm. Maybe even a lovely shade of purple around his nose, depending on what exactly had gone down. 

Jafar’s knuckles were unscathed, so he could only conclude he didn’t punch the guy. He set his empty cup down.

“What else did we get up to?” he asked, surprisingly calm. “More drinking, I assume?”

It seemed to do the trick to snap his friends out of their awkward shocked daze, and the three went on to give some highlights of the night before: After meeting up with Adam, they all apparently went to a strip club, drank more of course. Kit had apparently developed a crush on a pretty blond, who could do inhuman things on the pole. 

“She’s really cute and super sweet. Her shift was almost over by the time we got there, so I bought her a drink and chatted with her. Her name’s Ella,” Kit recounted with soft affection for the stripper. “I got her number and all. I’m so mad you don’t remember the silver stilettos she was wearing.” He whistled in awe. “She was probably the nicest girl I’ve ever met.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jafar noted Aladdin shaking his head, though Genie seemed happy for him.

Sometime after the strip club, they had gone to the sports bar and put some food in their bellies. This was apparently when Jafar had slipped off to the bathroom without his phone. 

“Then came the other club,” said Kit.

“The other club?” asked Jafar.

“What even was that club called?”

Aladdin shrugged.

“Something about a castle, I dunno,” Genie chimed in.

“What happened at the club?” said Jafar.

“What _didn’t_ happen at the club,” said Genie with a roll of his eyes, as if that gesture alone said it all. 

Aladdin’s phone took that moment to start vibrating where it sat on the table. He turned it over and read the text.

“I hate to bring the bearer of bad news,” he said, “but brunch is over.”

1:17 PM - TWO AND A HALF HOURS BEFORE THE WEDDING

Technically, everyone was to arrive at least an hour before the ceremony. That gave Jafar an hour and a half to get ready and maybe perhaps recollect as many of his memories from the night before as he could. They had broken up brunch in such a hurry, he had forgotten to ask if this Adam was going to be at the wedding. At the very least, he wanted to know what had transpired between them before seeing him again.

The general story that had been described to him seemed to fit several of the pieces he had recovered over the course of the day so far. He remembered his head spinning from too much tequila. Loud music and glitter. Bending over a toilet and emptying his stomach. The taste of mozzarella sticks to soak up whatever alcohol remained. Chasing it with a rum and coke. After that… after that still felt fuzzy. He also still couldn’t remember what this Adam looked like or what had been spoken between them.

In his spare time, Jafar gathered his scattered clothes from the night before and put them into his hamper. He tried not to linger on the weird stain at the front of his pants. Maybe there was a reason he didn’t remember Kit’s Ella. Maybe he and another stripper… Heat rose to his cheeks. No, even drunk he wouldn’t… 

And then there was the club.

_ ‘What  _ didn’t  _ happen at the club.’ _

Jafar’s stomach churned. What happened there? Was it good? Did he have fun? Or did he sit in a corner and drink all night? Was he miserable? 

He shook those thoughts away. Whatever happened happened. It would come back to him in time. He hoped. Or maybe he didn’t… No he did. The idea of Jafar doing something extreme and not remembering it was one thing, but knowing  _ Aladdin and Genie _ knew about it and he did not made it worse. 

Jafar massaged his temples and took another ibuprofen. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror and applied just a hint of makeup to cover the dark lines under his eyes. Satisfied with how his face looked, he fixed any stray curls of hair, brushed his teeth again, and applied deodorant. He stared at his reflection again, who looked a lot less of death than he had this morning. Good enough.

Jafar returned to the bedroom and took out the plastic covered tuxedo; he unzipped it and laid it out over the bed.

3:42 PM - EIGHTEEN MINUTES UNTIL THE WEDDING

Aladdin and Jasmine had wanted an outdoor wedding, and while Jasmine had once explained she wanted a small gathering of close friends and family, somehow her father had interpreted that into ‘Invite as many people as I’m related to.’ Needless to say, her only bridezilla moment happened when the old fool read to her the head count. 

She had been furious at first, though after some serious No Wedding Talk Only Friend Time with Jafar, a pizza, some beers, and a viewing of  _ Ocean’s 8 _ , she and her father managed to work together to cut down the list to a few hundred people. 

Jafar supposed that’s what happens when you come from a big, rich family. Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t surprised by just _ how _ many people were invited. Which was a lot.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, observing all the bodies standing around. 

“Yeah,” said Hakim, who stood beside him off to the side, near the perfectly trimmed bushes.

They watched as the wedding coordinator - who Jasmine had multiple times referred to as the ‘fairy godmother’ of wedding planning - attempted to try and start getting guests to sit down. 

Hakim and Jafar exchanged a look, knowing she would come for them next. If she had her way, likely everyone would be ready to go a full fifteen minutes before anything was to start. 

They parted ways, Hakim to the front and Jafar… well, Jafar wanted to do something first. Instead, he headed towards the venue building where a certain bride was getting the finishing touches done.

Jafar nearly sighed as he walked through the open door. Jasmine looked absolutely stunning in her white, gold, and turquoise dress. He knew what it had looked like on a hanger, but that was nothing compared to how it made Jasmine glow… or maybe that was just her. 

It had been a long time since they were kids playing in the mud. Since that time they shared their first kiss at eleven only to never kiss again. Since their falling out in high school when Jafar felt he was better than her, even though he was just jealous that she was getting better grades than he was. That she knew how to make new friends and he had been labelled the school freak for once bringing in his pet parrot to biology. 

Since reconciling at senior prom because her shitty boyfriend Anders dumped her when he didn’t get Prom King and she needed a familiar shoulder to cry on. Since attending the same college (she still got better grades than he did, but it gave them an excuse to hang out for study nights). Since graduation when Jafar’s girlfriend at the time dumped him and Jasmine had  _ Ocean’s 11 _ and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s waiting for him.

Since the day Jasmine told Jafar that Aladdin had proposed, but that she hadn’t told anyone else yet; though Dalia knew just because it was Dalia. 

Now here they were. Jafar felt almost guilty for being as hungover as he was, but for the few seconds it took for Jasmine to spot him in the vanity mirror and her face to light up, he completely forgot about the bachelor party all over again.

They weren’t the only ones in the room. Her father was over in the corner adjusting his clothes in the body mirror. Dalia had been standing to Jasmine’s left and had noticed Jafar’s presence first.

Jasmine rose to her still-bare feet. 

“How do I look?” she asked.

“Beautiful,” said Jafar. 

Jasmine grinned and pulled him in for a hug. 

“A part of me can’t believe this is really happening.”

Jafar chuckled lightly.

“Me neither,” he asked, “considering how many hearts you’ve broken, I never thought you would get married.”

Jasmine playfully rolled her eyes. 

“You’re one to talk. When are  _ you  _ gonna get married?” she said.

“Oh, someday. When I can find someone who can stand me.” 

“Really? Cause that is not what I heard. Y’know, about last night,” she said, teasing.

Jafar’s eyes widened. Oh right, last night, the night he can’t remember. 

“Who told you?”

“Genie poked his head in here a little while ago so see how things were going, you know him. Taking the best man thing very seriously and all. We got chatting a little bit.”

“About me? This is your day.”

“Genie wanted to make conversation and thought it would make me laugh.” She softly chuckled. “And seeing you all flustered about it now is definitely funny.”

“It’s not that funny.”

“It’s a little funny. You’re always the one who’s policing everybody else when we go out.”

“It’s called being responsible, princess.”

“Oh, bringing back nicknames are we? You must be embarrassed.” 

Jafar shook his head. He could never win with her, and while sometimes he found it infuriating, right now all he could do was give in.

Dalia walked up to the two.

“Sorry to break up this conversation,” she said, not really sounding sorry at all, “but we’ve got less than 10 minutes until showtime.” She turned to Jafar. “And  _ you  _ need to take your seat.”

“Alright, alright. You sound like that wedding coordinator.” Jafar rolled his eyes, turning to leave only to stop at the door frame and say, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Jasmine replied.

The moment Jafar showed his face outside again, the wedding coordinator’s eyes locked onto him, making a direct line for him. She snatched him by the elbow and Jafar attempted to roll his shoulder in order to pull his arm away, but the coordinator had a firm grip and a firmer tone about how he needed to be seated fifteen minutes ago.

Halfway up the aisle, the coordinator let go and guided him to the front row of chairs. As Jafar followed her the rest of the way, a face in an aisle seat caught his eye. It was only for a moment, but enough to make him turn briefly to get a better look.

The face in question was turned away, as the man who owned it seemed to be making conversation with the woman behind him. 

Jafar shook off the weird feeling pleasantly clawing its way into his chest, then found his seat right beside Hakim. 

As they waited for the procession to begin, Jafar looked over at Aladdin, who was dressed impeccably and looking nervous as hell. Genie stood beside him, offering encouraging words. 

Jafar pondered the odd feeling from a moment ago. It was one he remembered feeling before… It was definitely  _ attraction _ , but also  _ irritation _ . Weird.

He blinked and just like that, a fragment of a memory came to the forefront of his mind.

A handsome man with blonde hair and a soft beard that shaped a smile; he was staring directly across from him, shades of pink and blue dancing across the stranger’s face. Jafar wasn’t sure why he knew the mystery man’s beard was soft… Had he touched it? Who was this man? Where did he meet this man? Which bar was it? What time? Was it before the tequila? 

Did Jafar  _ do _ something with this man? Was this Adam?

The wedding between Jasmine and Aladdin went off without a hitch. 

As soon as the music had begun and everyone stood, Jafar was determined to banish his troubling line of thought to the back of his mind. It wasn’t fair. Just when he seemed a bit more relaxed about not remembering much of the night before, of course something new would come back to him and just throw a wrench into his peace of mind. But he sucked it up and pushed the remainder of his hangover and the shattered memories of the night before to the side and focused on the happiest day of his best friend’s life.

The ceremony itself was beautiful. If Jafar was quite certain of anything, he would never forget the pure joy on Jasmine’s face as her father walked her down the aisle. There would have been a time, long ago, when Jafar would be disgustingly jealous that that look was not for him. But that was a _ long, long _ time ago and he was happy for her. Aladdin was a good man and they were a good match.

Still, at the deepest pit of Jafar’s heart, a pang of loneliness struck. He ignored it as best as he could.

Kit was dancing with the stripper, Ella, from the night before.

Jafar knew it was the stripper because Kit had just introduced them before taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. And she was everything Kit had said at brunch earlier in the day. She was gorgeous and sweet and had a great smile. Jafar had felt rather embarrassed at just _ how _ down to earth she was.

At least someone benefitted from last night.

Jafar’s brain felt like a record, skipping back to that flashback he had had moments before the wedding. The stranger, the feel of his beard, the pounding music that he now remembered was playing a Kylie Minogue song.

He probably shouldn’t be this low in his champagne glass already. The reception had only just begun and he was almost finished with his first glass. He had no plans of repeating last night, or the hangover that had cruelly greeted him this morning, so he gently nudged the base of his glass away with the tip of his index finger. 

His eye caught Dalia and Genie tearing up the dance floor far too enthusiastically for the song playing. Jasmine and Aladdin had already had their first dance as husband and wife, and now Jasmine was dancing with her father, while Aladdin chatted with one of the guests who had their back to the room. Hakim was standing off to the side, chatting with one of Jasmine’s friends Jafar couldn’t remember the name of. Though it seemed she was the one doing most of the talking, which is usually how Hakim liked it. Good for him.

Jafar was the only one sitting at his table. A plethora of guests and all made up of people he didn’t know and people he knew but were talking to anyone but him.

This was why he hated things like this. 

Maybe he should finish the last of his champagne now. He did before placing his now empty glass down on the table, pushing it out of his reach, as though it might magically refill itself. 

Maybe he should grab some food. He was not particularly hungry, but he was bored and the walk to the food table and back would soak up some time. 

Jafar sighed and stood to go and do just that, when he heard his name from afar.

He stopped and turned to see Aladdin waving him over with a dopey grin.

Oh right, he’s supposed to be having a good time. It’s a wedding reception.

Jafar made his way over to where Aladdin was standing with the other guest he had been chatting up. 

“Hey,” said Aladdin, pulling Jafar in for one of those half handshake-half hugs that he and Genie were so fond of. 

“Hey, congratulations,” said Jafar as he pulled back.

“Jafar, you remember Adam?” Aladdin said, gesturing to the third person in their circle. The third person Jafar had not yet looked at. The third person who had been watching Jafar and Aladdin greet each other.

Adam. The man Jafar was sure he fought the night before. He didn’t remember it, but he was sure… 

Jafar looked at him at last... and nearly dropped dead. 

“Jafar. It’s good to see you again,” said Adam.

That face… it was different than last night, but he was certain it was the same face. Those blue eyes were unmistakable. That moment flashed through Jafar’s mind again. Sitting across from him were those piercing eyes. Their owner was bearded last night, bearded with a perfect smile, and ah, there was that odd feeling Jafar had felt earlier. The irritated attraction.

That man. He spoke to that man last night. He and that man laughed and drank. He didn’t beat that man up, he was certain. That man was this man.

The man held his hand out to shake. Jafar reflexively took it. The hand in his was warm and soft and another image came to mind: those hands under his shirt and scratching down his chest, then followed by the way they held him by the jaw, caressing. The man sitting in front of him. The pounding of the music. The man. _ Adam _ , he remembered.

“Are you alright?” Adam asked. 

His growing concern etched itself into his brow as Jafar stared blankly at him, internally chasing the shadows of the memories of the time he had spent with this man. And this  _ was  _ the man across from him, he knew that now. 

There had been dancing, touching, laughter, and a sit down across from one another. What had they discussed? Life? The wedding? The women on the poles? No, was this at the strip club or the other club where everything happened? Jafar could not separate his memories to their various locations. He remembered the song now; it was “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” and it was a favorite of Adam’s. The club itself had been so dark, with pinks and blues flashing all about the place. The way it had lit up Adam’s face… 

“You _ really _ don’t remember me, do you?” There was amusement in Adam’s voice, though disappointment etched itself onto his face. An interesting clash of expression.

“Your beard…” Jafar finally spoke, neutrally eyeing the clean shaven cheeks.

Adam reflexively brought a hand up to touch his face. 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling again, flashing those teeth. “You remembered I had a beard last night.”

Yes, Jafar remembered the beard. And he remembered why he knew it was soft. He  _ had _ touched it, he had dragged his fingers through it as he-  _ Oh _ .

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your eyes that wide, Jafar,” said Aladdin, who had been forgotten upon the reunion. 

Adam chuckled.

“I think he just remembered something we did,” he said. 

Jafar’s cheeks grew hot. He wanted to run. Perhaps hide behind the live band Jasmine had insisted upon when planning this fucking reception. 

As long as Jafar had been a drinker, he had made one rule and only one: never have sex with a stranger. Judging from the flirtatious look Adam was giving him, and even though he still had no explicit memories to back the theory up, he was quite sure he had broken his rule last night.

_ Shit fuck shit fuck shit fuck! _ Jafar slowly took a step back. Adam’s gaze caught the motion and opened his mouth to say something. 

Something Jafar didn’t stick around to find out.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said quickly, not letting in any room for protest, before turning and walking away. There was speed in his step as he made his way over to the dance floor and away from Aladdin and Adam.

He stopped beside Jasmine and her father.

“Mind if I cut in?” he asked, not waiting for an answer before sliding his hand into Jasmine’s.

“Um, of course,” said her father with a shrug. Jasmine nodded to him to silently let him know it was alright. 

Jafar twirled with her, away from the old man and even farther away from Adam. He made sure to keep his back to the rest of the room as he settled for a spot so they could sway.

“You alright?” Jasmine laughed softly. “You seem a little jittery.”

“Nonsense. I haven’t told you congratulations yet. I thought I should. Congratulations.” Jafar relaxed somewhat, relieved to draw a conversation that wasn’t about him blacking out and what - or  _ who  _ \- he did last night.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“I’m happy for you.” He meant it, but god, his words sounded wooden.

Jasmine gently squeezed his shoulder.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Today is not about me,” he replied, even though it felt like a part of it was, for better or worse. His blackout certainly had been the hot topic of discussion among his friends. Maybe that’s why everyone had been so vague when recounting last night, because they knew what happened between him and Adam and they knew Jafar would probably react poorly. 

And what exactly was he reacting to? If it hadn’t been consensual, then his friends wouldn’t find it so…  _ entertaining  _ as they did. Had Adam been as drunk as he was? 

Terrific, the headache was back.

He looked down at Jasmine, who was looking back at him with that familiar expression she always wore whenever he was being reluctant about whatever was bothering him and she was determined to figure out exactly what that was. He used to be able to resist that look, back when he was only a child and pretending was easy.

But with age and maturity came understanding. Jasmine knew something was bothering him, and if Jafar attempted to run away again, she would keep him there on the dance floor until either hell froze over or he spat it out. 

He sighed. “What do you know about Adam?”  _ And me. _

Jasmine smiled, glad that he was finally asking her.

“I know he’s an old friend of Aladdin’s from high school; they reconnected about a year ago. Up until about three weeks ago, Adam had a long-term girlfriend who broke up with him and that Adam was still pretty upset about it.” Something twinkled in her eyes that made Jafar uncomfortable. “I know you two made out last night and you don’t remember it. Genie told me they saw you two kissing in their booth at the club, when everybody else had gone dancing.” 

Jafar’s face burned.

“What else?” he asked. He needed to know.

Jasmine shrugged.

“That’s about it. When they were still together, he and his ex came over a few times and hung out.”

“I mean… what else happened between me and him?”

“Nothing, as far as I know. Why?”

Jafar pressed his lips into a hard line. Nothing past making out as far as she knew. 

“What’s he doing now?” he asked. “Is he looking over at us?”

“Are you serious? What is this, high school?” she said.

“Come on, Jasmine. Just tell me.”

Jasmine continued to grin as she peered around his shoulder. She was silent for a moment, every millisecond making Jafar feel more ancy. “Well?”

“He keeps glancing over here, but -oh, yeah he noticed me looking. Oops. He looks embarrassed. I think you hurt his feelings.”

“I hurt his feelings?”

“Yeah. You think nobody noticed how quickly you walked away from him a minute ago?”

Jafar frowned and spun Jasmine in a circle, quickly catching a view of his own: Adam staring down at his glass of champagne, half paying attention to a conversation he, Aladdin, and Genie were having. 

“You think I hurt his feelings?” Jafar asked again, a little more concerned. 

“Yep.”

“What do you say to someone you don’t remember?”

“Jafar,” said Jasmine, “you start by saying ‘hi.’ Be honest with him. Do you want to get to know him?”

Jafar thought a moment, then gave a slow, hesitant nod. 

Jasmine continued, “Then get to know him. Definitely ask him to dance. He’s an amazing dancer.”

Jafar shook his head slightly, not in disagreement, but in general awe. What would he do without her?

As if on cue, Aladdin took that moment to stride up to them.

“Mind if I interrupt so I may dance with my wife?” he asked with a grin.

“Not at all,” said Jafar, taking a step back to let Aladdin rightly swoop in. Jasmine gave him an encouraging nod before Jafar walked off. He made his way off the dance floor, his eyes scanning the crowd and eventually spotting Adam over by the bar. Swallowing his pride, Jafar took a deep breath and went over to him.

Adam sat on the barstool, casually nursing a fresh glass of champagne. He ran a hand through his blond hair and let out a breathy sigh.

“What happened to you?” asked Jafar, slipping into the stool beside him. “Not ten minutes ago, you and the groom were laughing and all smiles. You look like someone just ran over your cat.” He motioned to the bartender for another glass of champagne of his own.

Adam’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

“No, no. Nothing serious like that. I, uh… met someone last night. Thought we hit it off. Even got a chance to kiss him. Saw him today and not only did he not remember me, but he was rather cold and distant,” said Adam, bitterness dripping from his tone. “Like he wanted nothing to do with me.”

Well shit, something told Jafar that this one would be a drama queen. He had to admit though, that was kind of his type, childhood sweetheart aside.

“Perhaps this man did not wish to make a fool of himself. After all, he only remembered you the moment he saw your face for the first time in twelve hours. Perhaps he was…”  _ Be honest _ , Jasmine’s voice echoed in Jafar’s ears. “Perhaps it was  _ because _ he did not remember you that he was as cold as you say. He was embarrassed.” Jafar took a swig of his champagne. 

Adam fully turned to him.

“Is he sorry?” he asked. 

Jafar grit his teeth and nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s been rather frustrating, not knowing. Mind if I just ask you something?”

“Okay.”

“Did we have sex?”

Adam raised his eyebrows and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“No, we didn’t,” he replied.

Jafar exhaled a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank fuck,” he said.

Adam chuckled lightly.

“Is that why you were avoiding me? Cause you thought we had drunken sex in a club bathroom or something?”

Jafar leaned in.

“No, not that detailed. I only remember kissing you; I was not sure how far we went… Did we do something in a club bathroom?”

“Only made out some more. Before,” Adam laughed, “before you insisted that club bathrooms are disgusting and we should, and I quote, ‘Tongue-fuck each others’ mouths on a dance floor like normal people.’”

“Wow… That was definitely the tequila talking.” Jafar said with a soft laugh. “And did we?”

“We were going to, but then you dropped your drink on your crotch.”

Jafar barked a laugh.

“So that’s what that stain was,” he said. 

“It wasn’t long after that that I insisted on walking you home. Got you to your apartment safely, helped you out of your shoes, gave your cheek a kiss goodnight and I left.”

Jafar tried to remember, but couldn’t. Instead of feeling frustrated, he felt a little sad that he couldn’t recall the end of it.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad night,” he said softly.

“Not at all. Though it was a shitty morning,” Adam smiled and shook his head. “I woke up with the worst hangover.”

“Couldn’t be any worse than mine.”

“Trust me, it was bad.”

“Try dealing with that on top of not remembering a damn thing from the night before. A fucking nightmare.”

They both locked eyes, then laughed. 

The two sat there for a moment, shyly exchanging glances at each other. Overhead, the music switched to Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” Jafar bit back a smirk at the choice.

“Do you,” Adam started. “Do you want to start over?”

“Do you want to dance?” Jafar asked.

A wide grin gradually stretched across Adam’s face, his eyes lighting up.

“Absolutely.”

  
  



End file.
